The Hijab row in Karnataka is turning out to be a pan-India debate and now it has started getting global attention. Now, Pakistani activist and education crusader Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday spoke on the ongoing Hijab row in India and batted for the use of the veil in education institutions. Malala Yousafzai took to his Twitter handle and stated that refusing to let girls go to school due to Hijab is horrifying and Indian leaders must stop marginalisation of Muslim women.
Ironically, Malala is known to fight against fundamentalists who often use hardline approaches on women. She is also known to fight for women's education and emancipation. At a very young age, she voiced for the cause of equality of women in all fields including education and was even shot by terrorists in October 2012 by the Taliban for defying the hardline approach. For this, she was awarded Nobel Peace Prize and later moved to the UK and became an icon.
Soon after Malala's tweet, BJP General Secretary CT Ravi took to his Twitter handle and asked the Nobel Peace Prize winner whether she should be hiding behind her Burqa rather than interfering in the internal affairs of India.
All About Hijab Row
In December 2021, four students belonging to a particular community were denied entry into the classroom for wearing hijab (headscarf). The students accused the Principal of the pre-university college of taking such a step and also claimed that they were made to sit outside of the classroom at the stairs and even marked them absent. However, the Principal denied the claims of the students and had stated that the students made the allegations under the influence of some vested interest groups. After the row over Hijab intensified and students from another section started protesting wearing a saffron scarf, Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh had emphasized the need for a uniform dress code in order to avoid such incidents in the future.
After months of protest, a petition was filed by students of the Government Pre-University College for Girls, Udupi, demanding permission to attend classes while wearing 'hijab'. On February 8, the Karnataka High Court was adjourned, to Wednesday in the Hijab row case. The single bench of Justice Krishna S. Dixit also requested the student community to maintain peace in the state.
Meanwhile, , considering the volatile situation in the state against the backdrop of the hijab crisis, the Karnataka government declared a three-day holiday for schools and colleges starting from Wednesday. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai requested the students to wait until the court order and not to get provoked.